Ex post facto research is a design that begins after an event has occurred and without the interference of the investigator. The major of social research in which is not acceptable or to manipulate human participants’ characteristics is based on ex post facto research designs.
Ex post Facto Research Design
The ex post facto design involves the researcher predicting a possible effect that has already occurred. For example, a researcher may investigate how teenagers’ weight influences their self-confidence, The participants would not be randomly assigned, but will be grouped together according to a particular trait or characteristic or trait, such as being a normal weight, underweight or overweight. Then the researcher would measure their self-confidence levels.
This is ex post facto research because the researcher chose participants based on a pre-existing characteristic they had, which was the status of their weight.
Because ex post facto research is conducted on the basis of the cause that has led to its effects, the researcher needs to have a control group. The control group is used to make a comparison with the experimental group. This is done to analyze the cause of the phenomena, behavior, event or situation that had already occurred. The participants’ pre-existing situation cannot be changed or manipulated. The focus for the researcher is on the phenomena, behavior, event or situation that has already occurred. The researcher’s methodology is on determining the causes of the phenomena, behavior, event or situation. The researcher does this by analyzing the “what” and “how” of the phenomena, behavior, event or situation. Every aspect of the causal relationship should be analyzed to determine the best reasons(s) that led to the effect.
Steps of ExPost Facto Research
Ex post facto research is systematic and there is a specific order in the way it is conducted. The following are the sequence of steps:
- Define the problem.
- Examine the relevant literature.
- Formulate the hypotheses, which are the possible solutions that may have led to the effect.
- List the assumptions that are the basis of the hypothesis and research procedure.
- Select techniques to collect the relevant data, such as questionnaires, interviews, literature search etc.
- Select two groups of the participants who differ with regard to the phenomena, behavior, event or situation.
- Establish categories to classify data that are appropriate for the study’s purpose and capable of revealing significant relationships or similarities.
- Analyze, describe, and interpret the findings based on the conclusion of whether the study’s hypotheses are accepted or rejected.
Advantages of Ex Post Facto Research
- Ex post facto research relevant to behavioral and social who are not able to manipulate variables.
- It is useful to analyze the cause of an effect, which gives it an advantage over experimental research.
- It is usually less time consuming and cheaper than other types of research designs.
- In this type of design, the opinion of the researcher is particularly relevant to the research.
Disadvantages of Ex Post Facto Research
- The researcher cannot assign research subjects randomly to different groups.
- The researcher cannot manipulate variables.
- The participants cannot be randomly assigned to different groups.
- It does not give the researcher the basis by which they are able to define a clear relationship between the independent and dependent variables, and they may not be able to provide a feasible explanation for the relationship that exists between the independent and dependent variables.
Note: For more information, view the following videos:
Ex Post Facto Designs at: https://youtu.be/mekZh6EPfNo
Ex-post Facto Research with Real-Life Examples at: https://youtu.be/r9F5yA5Iwus
